In Italy, it is not uncommon to find streets and neighborhoods named Cincinnatus, but even more familiar is the name of a city in the American state of Ohio. Although similar, these names have different origins: the U.S. city is named after The Society of Cincinnati (a society of veterans of the Revolution), while the Italian references honor the man who originally bore the name—Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman dictator considered a model of virtue and integrity, as well as detachment from power.

It is important to clarify that, in Ancient Rome, the term dictator did not carry the negative connotation it has today. The dictatorship was a magistracy of the Republic era (magister populi was its official title, while dictator was a popular appellation) that granted its holder full powers to address an exceptional situation, usually related to security, ensuring that the two-prætor (and later two-consul) system would not hinder swift decision-making.